Threshing-machine.



nu. 635,742. patented 00L-3|, |899.

M..& .1. BowMAN. THRESHING MACHINE.'

(Application led May 5,- 189B.)

(No Model.)

im: NoRnlxs mins no.. moro-Limo.. WASHINGTON D c Nrrnn STATES ATE rrr@ MADISON BOW MAN AND JOHN BOWMAN, OF TOLEDO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS OF ONE-THIRD TO R. C. WILLIS, OF SAME PLACE.

THRESHING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 635,742, dated October 31, 1899.

Application filed May 5, 1898. Serial No 679,784. (No model.)

T all whom t nwty concern:

Be it known that we, MADISON BOWMAN and JOHN BowMAN, citizens of the United States, residing at Toledo, in the county of Cumberland and' State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful T hreshing-Machine, of which the following is a specification.`

Our invention relates to threshing-machines, and the improvements are more espe- 1o cially directed to devices by which small seeds, such as timothy and clover, may be cleaned ready for the market without subsequent treatment.

Threshing-machines of ordinary construction embrace as one of the riddles a chaffing screen or board which is arranged in the plane of the lower machine-conveyer and is adapted to deliver to another riddle; but it is found that the chaff and short straw lodge on this zo screen or board to such an extent as to clog the perforations therein, so that ordinary chaffers not only fail to clean the seed from the chad, but the blast carries olf much of the seed upon the straw-pile. Our invention z 5 overcomes these defects by cleaning the seed from the chaff in its travel from the conveyer to the chaffer, and the grain emerges from the machine in a 'clean condition ready to be placed on the market.

Our improvements are readily applied to ordinary threshing-machines at small expense for the purpose of enabling the machine to clean timothy and clover seed from the chaff and straw, and the improvements are detach- 3 5 ably but rigidly held in the machine, so that they may be removed when desired to use the machine for threshing and cleaning wheat, oats, and rye.

Vith these ends in View our invention con- 4o sists in the novel combination of elements and in the construction and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand the invention, we have illustrated the preferred em,

a detail perspective view of the screen which is to be placed between 'one of the machineconveyers and the chatting-screen. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of an ordinary chaff- 5 5 ing-screen with the fastening means for our improved screen thereon` Fig. 4 is a detail perspective View of a conveyer-screen- Like numerals of reference denote like and corresponding parts in each of the several 6o figures of the drawings.

In order that others skilled in the art may understand our improvement, we have illustrated a part of an ordinary threshing-machine by Fig. l of the drawings, in which the numeral l indicates a part of the machinecasing. 2 is an ordinary slatted and stepped conveyer therein; 3, the ordinary chaftngscreen; 4, one of the riddles; 5, the conveyertrough; 6, the screw conveyer therein, and 7 7o the blast-fan. All these parts are ordinary and familiar to those skilled in the art, and to embody our improvements in a machine of this type it is necessary to make a very slight change, which may readily be effected.

In ordinary threshing-machines the chaffing-screen or riddle 3 lies substantially flush 'with the surface of the stepped conveyer 2;

but to embody our invention in such threshing-machine we iind it necessary to drop the 8o chaflngscreen 3 on a planebelow the upper surface of the stepped conveyer, the chattingscreen beinglowered approximately one inch, more or less, according to the thickness of the screen which we employ. This depression of the chatting-screen 3 provides a seat in the machine-frame 1 above the chafngscreen, which seat is indicated at 8 in the drawings.

9 designates our improved screen, which is 9o suitably attached to a carrying-frame 10, and this screen and its frame are arranged immediately over the chafng-screen 3 to occupy a horizontal position substantially flush with the upper surface of the stepped conveyer 2. The screen 9 maybe of any suitable material, although we prefer to employ a wire fabric the meshesof which provide interstices or openings of such size as to enable small timothy and clover seeds to pass freely thereroo through, but the chaff, straw, and refuse is retained on this screen to be blown by the a i esjma blast from the fan out through the delivery end of the machine.

The screen-frame 10 is constructed so that it may be held detachably but iirmly in place on the chatting-screen 3, and in one embodiment of our invention we provide this frame 10 with the vertical notches 11 in opposite rails of the frame, while in the lower edge of said side rails of the frame are formed the diagonal notches 12.

The chafling-screen 3 carries the short vertical blocks 13, which are adapted to fit in the vertical notches 11 of the screen-frame, and said screen 3 is furthermore provided on its upper face with diagonal blocks 14. These diagonal blocks or retainers do not extend above the chafIing-screen as high as the vertical blocks 13, and said blocks 14 are thus adapted to fit snugly in the diagonal notches 12 of the screen-frame.

The screen 9 is coextensive in area to that of the chaffing-screen, over which it is placed so as to entirely cover the chaffing-screen, and said screen 9 is held firmly and securely in place by the locking blocks or retainers 13 14, which fit in the notches of the screen-frame and are attached to the chaffing -screen. These retainers or blocks hold the screen 9 in position over the chafng-screen against edgewise movementin a direction eitherlongitudinally or transversely of the machine-.casing 1, and to prevent the screen 9 from vertical displacement in an upward direction the fasteners 15 are attached to the heel or rear end of the stepped conveyer 2, said fasteners extending rearwardly beyond the stepped conveyer and fitting upon one of the end rails of screenframe 10.

Between the tail end of the riddle 4 and the vertically-movable gate 16 at the rear end of the threshing-machine is formed a seat 17,

which lies in a horizontal plane of the riddleA 4 and over the conveyer-trough 5, and in this seat 17|is snugly fitted a small screen 18, which is attached to a frame adapted to snugly occupy the space or seat bounded by the Walls of the machine-casing, the rear end of the riddle 4, and the vertically-movable gate of the machine. This small screen 18 lies immediately over the conveyer-trough, so as to prevent the straw and chaff from lodging therein and allow the timothy and clover seed which may be blown over the screen 9 to pass through said screen 18 and be caught by the conveyer-trough. This small screen 1S has its mesh corresponding to that of the screen 9, and the screen-frame is held in place by suitable fasteners 19 for the purpose of vend of the machine.

preventing movement of the screen 18 and allowing the same tobe readily removed. v

When it is desired to use the machine for threshing grain to obtain clover or timothy seed, the screens 9 and 18 are adj usted in place over the chaffer and the conveyer-trough, respectively, and said screens are suitably held in firm relation to the Working parts of the threshing-machine. The small timothy or clover seed are free to pass through the screens 9 and 18 to the riddle 4 and the conveyer-troiigh, while the chaff and straw are carried by the blast out through the delivery For threshing wheat, oats, and rye it is necessary to remove the screens 9 and 18, and the machine may then be used in the ordinary way, because the depression of the chaffer 3 below the stepped conveyer has no appreciable effect on the grain or its treatment.

It is evident that changes in the form and proportion of parts may be made by a skilled mechanic without departing from the spirit or sacriicin g the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim is- 1. In a th reshing-machine, the combination with a stepped conveyer and a chaffing-screen below the working surface thereof, of a fine screen, 9, having its frame seated upon the chafiing-screen and provided with the vertical and diagonal notches, the vertical and diagonal retainers attached to the chafling-screen and fitting in the notches of the screen-frame, and fasteners to hold the screen, 9, against displacement, substantially as described.

2. In a threshing-machine, the combination with a stepped conveyer, a chafling-screen arranged contiguous to and in a plane below the irregular surface of the conveyer, a riddle, 4, and a screw-conveyer casing in rear of said riddle, of the fine screen, 9, coextensive in area to the chafiing-screen and having interlocking connection therewith to lie flush with the irregular surface of the conveyer, another fine screen directly over the screw* conveyer casing and in line with the riddle, and fasteners for detachably securing the fine screens to the riddle and the chaiiing-screen, respectively, substantially as described.

In testimony that We claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto affixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

MADISON BOWMAN. JOHN BOWMAN. lVitnesses:

R. C. VILLIs, E. P. RANKIN.

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